Chefs tell their secrets at Sunday's Day at the Docks

Two basics about fishing will be highlighted at Sunday’s 33rd annual Day at the Docks, set for 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. along the Point Loma waterfront.

Buck Everingham of Everingham Bros. Bait Co., will offer a seminar on making bait, and a handful of really talented chefs will detail how they make gourmet meals out of the fish we catch off our California coast.

For more than 20 of the past 32 festivals, Everingham’s company has delivered fish for the Kids’ Fishing Adventure located behind each of the landings, H&M Landing, Point Loma Sportfishing and Fisherman’s Landing.

The fish in the kids’ pens is no ordinary brand, either. Everingham’s crew on the Catchalot spends time catching this bait and then curing it in pens, where the fish are fed for several weeks prior to the Day at the Docks.

This year, Everingham repaired all the pens for the kids, so they’ll be sea lion-proof prior to and during the event. On Wednesday, as the captain Joe Machado and the 118-foot Ebbco delivered the bait, more than a few knot-headed sea lions gathered to see if they could scrounge a free meal.

Everingham’s seminar is at 1:45 p.m. Sunday on the Main Stage at the corner of Emerson and Scott Streets. Be sure and check it out to see how this amazing company that was started in 1961 by Buck’s father, Adolpus Charles Everingham, continues to battle the cycles of bait production, bait-making and politics to provide the fleet with quality, live sardines and anchovies.

In addition to the seminar, Everingham Bros. Bait Co. will have a booth loaded with T-Shirts, tank tops, hats, drink koozies and other items, including memorabilia from the company’s past.

“At Day at the Docks, we get to see the people who use our bait products,” said Marcus Dunn, general manager of Everingham Bros. Bait Co. “They get to put a face to the names. We welcome feedback from fishermen.”

Said Buck: “Kids are a very important part of our industry, and this is a way to help promote the sport to kids and do something good for the fleet.”

Be sure and get a Day at the Docks program for all the various seminars and events during the day.

Two sport boats, the Islander at Fisherman’s Landing, and the Ocean Odyssey at H&M Landing, will offer special Catch, Prep & Cook Demonstrations.

The chefs on the Islander include Mitch Conniff of Mitch’s Seafood, who at 10:30 a.m. will prepare “sardines and other delicacies.” The Fish Market will whip up a sushi presentation at 12:30 p.m. Chef Chad White of the Gabardine Restaurant will prepare some kind of fish at 1:30 p.m. And private chef Jenn Felmley will offer “Baja Ceviche with shrimp” at 2:30 p.m.

The Ocean Odyssey lineup at H&M includes: Shauna Barton of Izorline and her “famous fish tacos” at 11 a.m. Chef Mike Fitzgerald of the Mesa College Culinary Arts and “Fresh Rock Cod Prepared 3 Ways” at 1 p.m. And Dave Sachau will make Hawaiian Style Poki at 3:30 p.m.

There will be some great tunes all day by Pound Dog, Bayou Brothers and The Rhythm Ranchers. Tommy Gomes will have his incredible tacos courtesy of Dave Rudi’s Catalina Offshore Products. They remain the best food buy at the festival. Two superstars in the inshore world, Corey Sanden of MC Swimbaits and Ed Surek, a Seeker pro staffer, will offer a don’t-miss seminar, “In Bay Fishing with artificials,” at 10:45 at the Berkley Pen Weigh Station Stage, adjacent to Fisherman’s Landing.

Last, but certainly not least, please stop by Captain Nick’s Fishing Pond in front of its traditional spot at H&M Landing. Michelle Dassero Huber will substitute for Capt. Nick Cates, who is back East. Enter your youngster to win a prize fishing there, and all the money raised will go to the Christopher Montera Support Group Fund. Montera is the son of April and sport boat captain Ray Montera. He was critically injured in Afghanistan last month, but continues to fight for his life and make progress at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.

If you’d like to contribute to Chris, you may do so through the Christopher Montera Support Fund, Wells Fargo Bank, Account Number: 2606136782.